The five million bird eggs in the world’s museum collections are an invaluable and underused resource

Marini, Miguel Ângelo; Hall, Linnea S.; Bates, John M.; Steinheimer, Frank D.; McGowan, R Y; Silveira, Luís Fábio; Lijtmaer, Darío A; Tubaro, Pablo L.; Córdoba-Córdoba, Sergio; Gamauf, Anita; Greeney, Harold F.; Schweizer, Manuel; Kamminga, Pepijn; Cibois, Alice; Vallotton, Laurent; Russell, Douglas; Robinson, Scott K.; Sweet, Paul R.; Frahnert, Sylke; Corado, René; Heming, Neander Marcel

doi:10.1093/auk/ukaa036

Cited by 24 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Given the huge variation in intra-specific egg shape that we identified here, the choice of individuals in these databases could have major impacts on the results. Thus, at present these databases are not well designed to fully analyse the hierarchical nature of variation in egg shape within species, but museum collections house an estimated five million bird eggs around the world (Marini et al, 2020) and adding photographs of clutches to measure egg shape to ongoing field studies is a low cost addition. Field studies will be particularly valuable when information about the parents is also collected and when the same individuals are measured repeatedly under different conditions or after experimental manipulations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Within-individual consistency and between-individual variation in the shapes of eggs laid by tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Taff

Ryan

Uehling

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Bird eggs come in a wide variety of shapes and recent large-scale studies across species have renewed interest in understanding the factors that generate and maintain this diversity. However, these advances largely overlook the fact that egg shape also varies dramatically within species: between populations, between individuals, and between eggs produced by the same individual. We measured the shape and size of 1382 eggs produced by 205 tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in 259 nests with many females having eggs measured in two or three years. We found that intra-specific variation in the asymmetry and ellipticity of tree swallow eggs spanned the range of typical egg shapes from 69% of species reported in a recent comparative study. Variation in shape and size was largely explained by individual identity, as the repeatability of egg shape and size was remarkably high both for eggs produced within a clutch and for clutches produced in successive years. All characteristics of mother and daughter eggs were positively correlated, although with a sample size of only 15 pairs these relationships were not significant. Female mass and structural size were correlated with the size of eggs produced, but not with their shape. Older females produced eggs that were larger, more asymmetrical, and less elliptical; this pattern was driven by a combination of both longitudinal changes in egg characteristics as females aged and by differential overwinter survival of females with particular egg characteristics. We found no evidence that any aspect of shape or size that we measured was related to nestling measurements or fate. Finally, we found that the patterns of covariation in aspects of egg size and shape between-individuals differed from that observed within-individuals, suggesting that the mechanisms driving egg shape variation might differ across these levels. A complete understanding of avian egg shapes will need to incorporate variation at multiple scales and we discuss the interpretation of our results in light of recent large-scale comparative studies that focus only on mean species egg shapes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Within-individual consistency and between-individual variation in the shapes of eggs laid by tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Taff

Ryan

Uehling

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…For extinct taxa, museum specimens are irreplaceable and special care is required (Adams et al 2003). The 5,000,000 bird eggs in the world's museums are an invaluable and underused resource (Kiff 2005, Marini et al 2020), but they have enabled decisive discoveries that have improved protection of threatened birds (see, e.g., Ratcliffe 1967, Hickey & Anderson 1968. Therefore lists of eggs belonging to 'E&E' species are also of value.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2021

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club

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Bill Bourne died peacefully at Keith, in Scotland, on 31 May 2021, aged 91. Bill wrote so much: papers in this Bulletin are noted below, and are illustrative of the breadth and depth of his ornithological interests and knowledge. Much has been written about him over his working life as a medic, in travel, in research and writing. Bill featured as the 12th in the series 'Personalities' in the April 1978 issue of British Birds. The authors' perception of Bill, a legend of energy, knowledge and eccentricity were shown to stand the test of time. He joined the BOC in 1956. When I first met him in 1969 at the Autumn Scientific meeting of the British Ornithologists' Union he encouraged me to do so too, and he proved to be a great friend as I forged my early contacts in the world of exploration, museums, research and societies.Bill's energy and resourcefulness are well illustrated in his 1951 solo expedition to the Cape Verdes, as a result of which he contributed to the Bannermans' History of the birds of the Cape Verde Islands. His early enthusiasm for birds and their nests was imparted by three maiden aunts. At age seven his father introduced him to egg collecting, which he pursued for ten years, then saw the error, destroyed his collection, and joined the British Trust for Ornithology. He spent most of the war in Bermuda enjoying tropicbirds and terns, and learning about boats and seabirds. From this time his particular interest was the Tubinares. David Bannerman recounts how at the hottest time of year, with little money and no transport of any kind, Bill relied entirely on his wits in his solo Cape Verde endeavour. It says much for his stamina and enthusiasm that he walked across all of São Tiago, over the roughest country, while his journeys between the islands were perforce made in local schooners. With an interest more in ecology than in specimen collecting just one was taken, an example of a Purple Heron Ardea purpurea, from a colony he discovered on São Tiago. He was struck by the paleness of their plumage and the specimen he secured was sent to Paris. After some years, a new race was named by the Abbé René de Naurois in Bill's honour, A. p. bournei.Bill read medicine and zoology at Cambridge, and completed his training at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Service in the RAF took him to Malta, Jordan and the Middle East at the time of the Suez crisis, then Cyprus, where he was co-founder and first recorder of the Cyprus Ornithological Society. His passionate interest in islands and seabirds came to the fore when, in 1961, he proposed to found the Seabird Group, which eventually formed in 1965, a timely formation ahead of the Torrey Canyon disaster in March 1967. He became its first secretary, whilst in the role of adviser to the Royal Naval Bird Watching Society (RNBWS) he codified the collection of avian data from ships at sea (Sea Swallow 13: 9-16), including ocean weather ships in the eastern Atlantic at a time when reports were pouring in. During this period, when I first met Bill, he worked at Watford Gen...

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“…data poor) egg collection at Natural History Museum at Tring (UK). Combined, these museums hold the largest research collection of blown bird eggs worldwide [36,37]. This dataset incorporates species across a range of body masses, from hummingbirds to ratites.…”

Section: Eggshell Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological drivers of eggshell wettability in birds

Attard

Bowen

Corado

et al. 2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Complex and at times extreme environments have pushed many bird species to develop unique eggshell surface properties to protect the embryo from external threats. Because microbes are usually transmitted into eggs by moisture, some species have evolved hydrophobic shell surfaces that resist water absorption, while also regulating heat loss and the exchange of gases. Here, we investigate the relationship between the wettability of eggshells from 441 bird species and their life-history traits. We measured the initial contact angle between sessile water droplets and the shell surface, and how far the droplet spread. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that body mass, annual temperature and eggshell maculation primarily explained variance in water contact angle across eggshells. Species nesting in warm climates were more likely to exhibit highly hydrophobic eggshells than those nesting in cold climates, potentially to reduce microbial colonization. In non-passerines, immaculate eggs were found to have more hydrophobic surfaces than maculate eggshells. Droplets spread more quickly on eggshells incubated in open nests compared to domed nests, likely to decrease heat transfer from the egg. Here, we identify clear adaptations of eggshell wettability across a diverse range of nesting environments, driven by the need to retain heat and prevent microbial adhesion.

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The five million bird eggs in the world’s museum collections are an invaluable and underused resource

Cited by 24 publications

References 37 publications

Within-individual consistency and between-individual variation in the shapes of eggs laid by tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Within-individual consistency and between-individual variation in the shapes of eggs laid by tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Full Issue

Ecological drivers of eggshell wettability in birds

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